A Stupid Mistake
by Dutchie15
Summary: Whatever mistakes he made, he knew she could make them fade. He knew she’d be able to make him forget. And as they sat there watching the sunset, he knew she’d find out all she wanted to know about him. [Post Death Eminent][CaRWash]


**Title: A stupid mistake.  
Disclaimer: Nuh-uh, not mine. And the song isn't either!  
Summary: Whatever mistakes he made, he knew she could make them fade. He knew she'd be able to make him forget. And as they sat there watching the sunset, he knew she'd find out all she wanted to know about him. CaRWash  
A/N: Yeah I'm on a role, I finished three fics in two days, so there's one more to come. The song is 'Anyone of us (Stupid Mistake)', by Gareth Gates. I believe he was the runner up of the English show 'Popstars' or whatever it was called.**

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She couldn't find him. After attending the little girl's funeral to support the father, who was actually her uncle, she drove straight back to the lab. She searched in Trace and Ballistics, asked Cooper in A/V and Valera in DNA, but he wasn't there. She looked for him in Horatio's office, but Horatio told her he wasn't there. She looked for him with Stetler, but he wasn't there either. She ran into Natalia in the hallway, but she'd seen him leave the building in a hurry as soon as their case was closed. 

And so Calleigh clocked out and got back into her car, making her way to the apartment that she'd been to on a couple of occasions. Making her way to the apartment belonging to Ryan Wolfe. The drive there was silent. She could've put the radio on, but she needed the silence. She needed the silence to put her thoughts in a row, to figure out what she was going to say. Although she was going there to talk about what he did, she didn't want to give him the impression she was against him. No, she was on his side. She wanted to help him.

She knew, from experience, that people did things that they regretted later. They saw it happen every single day. Murderers who regret killing someone. Mothers who regretted leaving their children alone. Husbands regretting having cheated on their wives, and reversed. And CSIs. CSIs that regretted a certain decision they made, a certain hunch they followed. She regretted a lot. Yes, she definitely regretted a lot.

When she parked her car in front of Ryan's apartment, she saw the front door was open a nick. She knew that was nothing for him, and it had her worried. She got out and knocked on the door. She called his name twice but he didn't call back, so she slowly pushed the door further open and stepped inside. The apartment looked the same as always, but cleaner. That was almost impossible, she knew with Ryan's OCD it had to be clean, but right now it was shining like the brightest star in the black sky.

Reaching the living room she saw that he wasn't there either. She was really starting to grow concerned, where could he be? He wouldn't leave his house without locking the door, surely. Not voluntarily at least. But just as she was about to reach out for her cell phone to try and call him, she saw him sitting outside. Through his big windows she saw he was sitting on the steps leading down into his garden, his arms wrapped around his knees, staring into nothing.

Relieved, she opened the backdoor softly and stepped out into the evening Miami air. She stood there watching him for a moment, the wind blowing through her blond hair. Then she stepped forward so she stood next to Ryan. He looked up and a look of confusion crossed his face. She smiled and sat down next to him. They sat in silence for a moment. He couldn't bring himself to ask her the question he wanted to, and she couldn't bring herself to give him the answer he wanted. And then when they could, they both did it at the same time.

"Cal…"  
"Ryan…"

They started laughing and Calleigh shook her head. She turned to him and tilted her head ever so slightly.

"You go ahead."

"How'd you get in?" He asked the expected question.

"Your door was open."

"What?" He asked unbelievingly.

"Your door. It was open."

His eyes widened and he went to stand up, but she put her hand on his arm and held him down.

"No worries, I closed it when I came in."

"Oh, thanks. How could I have left the door open?"

"You're upset. Out of your routine."

"So…why are you here?" Ryan asked, shifting to face her.

"Because of that, actually. Do you want to talk about what happened?"

"I shoved a cop. I'm sure you heard the story."

"Yes, but I want to hear it from you."

"I was stupid Cal, I let the boy get to me and I screwed up. I'm such a fool."

"Oh Ryan, everyone makes mistakes."

"You don't. I've never seen you make mistakes."

"That doesn't mean I don't make them. I made my fair share of mistakes."

He sighed and looked at her. She saw the sadness and regret in his eyes. She knew she was going to hear a story she wasn't going to agree with right now.

"I've made too many mistakes. The time I left Eric to go give his evidence to Horatio, the vial of blood I took to court, I froze in a shootout, shoved a lab tech against a wall, I gambled and got paid out in counterfeit super notes, and…now I shoved a cop. I might as well resign right now."

"No Ryan, no way. Don't think that way. I could give you a list of all mistakes I've made but we'd still be sitting here tomorrow at lunch. All your mistakes had a reason, and you're a really great guy and a really great CSI, and we all know it."

"Don't try to cheer me up now. I know it's no use."

"Horatio told you to give him the evidence as soon as possible. You were new and did exactly what he told you. I didn't tell you how to handle it so you took the blood because you thought it was the right thing to do. You froze because…well we had a long talk about that. It's easy to forget how to be in the field. Cooper told the feds about your eye and made you angry. The gambling…yes I admit that was stupid but you thought it was all legal, besides a friend dragged you into it, and it all went away in the end. And shoving the cop…He pissed you off. He went too far for you. That doesn't mean it's good what you did, but it explains it." She went by every point.

He shook his head.

"I just can't believe I got myself into more trouble."

"And I can't believe that you didn't come to me."

"What do you mean?"

"I thought we'd agreed you could always talk to me."

"We did. I can."

"Then why didn't you?"

"I didn't feel like talking."

"I've heard that before." She smiled.

"I know you have. I know I should have come to you. But I didn't. So you came to me?"

She shoved closer to him and put on that sweet caring look that could make him melt. Her eyes full of compassion, she answered:

"I figured you couldn't deal with this on your own. You've never been good at that."

"You know me too well Calleigh."

"I don't think I know you too well. There's a lot about you that I still need to learn. But I will, in time. Because I want to. And when I want something, I get it."

She smiled and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. He smiled back and leaned his head on her shoulder, feeling his worries disappear. Whatever mistakes he made, he knew she could make them fade. He knew she'd be able to make him forget. And as they sat there watching the sunset, he knew she'd find out all she wanted to know about him. Because she wanted to. And because he wanted her, too.

_It can happen to anyone of us  
__Anyone you think of  
__Anyone can fall  
__Anyone can hurt someone they love  
__Hearts will break  
__Cause I made a stupid mistake  
__It can happen to anyone of us  
__Say you will forgive me  
__Anyone can fail  
__Say you will believe me  
__I can't take  
__My heart will break  
__Cause I made a stupid mistake  
__A stupid mistake_


End file.
